


All Downhill From Here

by 3amepiphany



Series: 25 Days of WOYmas [1]
Category: Wander Over Yonder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 04:18:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8734600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3amepiphany/pseuds/3amepiphany
Summary: Going for a new amateur recreational ice block sled land-speed record...





	

**Author's Note:**

> A quick little one-shot as part of my contributions to the 25 Days of WOYmas countdown! Original post with advent calendar goodie here: http://omegalovaniac.tumblr.com/post/153976019256/firstly-sorry-this-posted-without-the-added-text

Hater had brought one of those giant inflatable tubes and stood there with it, chugging his hot cocoa straight out of the thermos. Peepers was close behind, dragging a toboggan behind him. The Commander had his go-face on.

Wander flagged them down with his hat, and they made their way through the sledders and spectators already having fun at the top of the hill and down into the little forested valley. Sylvia, bundled up in a big warm parka, was talking to some parents next to them, the kids happily making snow-critters to put on the fronts of their little sleds to take down with them on their next ride. As they approached, Wander waved at them again, but this time he’d sat down on his little disc-shaped sled and pushed himself down the incline backwards, the ends of his scarf waving, too. Hater gave him a tiny wave in return.

“Sorry we’re late, we couldn’t find a good place to park the Skullship,” Peepers said to Sylvia, giving a small nod to the parents.

“No worries, Wander and I could have shown up at sunrise and he’d still be content to do this all day.”

They watched the nomad spin out at the bottom of the hill, coming to a stop a good ways away from the treeline. Peepers was pleased by that; this should be safe enough. “I, uh, I brought the big sled,” he said, “it fits two.”

“Good deal - we can use that when the ice block has worn down!”

“The what?”

Hater set his tube and thermos down and looked over at the kids, who were ready to sled, and they asked their adults for a countdown. Quickly, Hater said, “Oh, wait, wait! I want in on this!” and situated himself on his tube, much to the excitement of the kids. They all pushed off on the count of one - and then they were gone, giggling and screaming. After a moment, Sylvia gestured with a nod behind her, and Peepers saw, indeed, a big block of ice, with a knotted rope frozen right into it. Her saddle blanket sat on top of it, ready to go.

“That… looks… dangerous,” he said.

“Oh, yeah.”

“I mean.”

“Yeah. It also fits two.” He was still sort of staring at it warily, and she nudged him. “Have you never been ice-block sledding before? It’s exhilarating. Like tobogganing, but… you know. On a block of ice. You get more speed, too.”

At the bottom of the hill, Wander met the kids and Hater and gave them high-fives as they each sled past him. There was cheering as they came to a stop and they all started to head back up together. Peepers shrugged. “The toboggan has a flatter, thinner surface that can lend itself better to a good stop. That just screams ‘broken limbs’ to me, honestly. Hitting a tree at the speed of light doesn’t seem like much fun.”

She waved a hand at him dismissively. “Ahh, naw, it’s like… like…”

“…Riding a Zbornak?” he offered.

“You say _to_ the Zbornak.”

The ice block remained untouched for a good while, though, after the sun set and the generators were started and the sledding area lit up with the help of flood lights. Most of the families started to head back home as the temperatures dropped; the kids thanking Peepers for allowing them to use the big toboggan to sled down together, and Hater giving them more high-fives for being cool and not making him feel dumb. Wander broke out their own thermos and some collapsible cups and started to pour them each a share - it was good cocoa, even if it wasn’t one-hundred-percent hot - and they stood around for a bit and discussed what to do for dinner when they were finally finished having fun for the night. Go back to the Skullship or head into the town for something?

As Wander was describing to Hater the best soup they’d had while staying in the town, Sylvia nudged Peepers again. “Hey, so.”

“So.”

“…Let’s take the block for a ride.”

He hesitated, and then sighed heavily. If bones were broken, it may as well be at this point in the evening. “Alright.”

“Alright!” she yelled. They downed their cocoa and got themselves ready - adjusting gloves and scarves, checking zippers on their coats, and pushing the block to the edge of the hill.

Hater laughed and pulled out his phone. “This is going to be amazing.”

Wander quickly tried to rummage around in his hat for a couple of helmets while they figured out the best way to sit on the block, Sylvia big-spooning Peepers and laughably insisting that she wouldn’t absolutely obliterate him if anything happened, but protect him instead, like an airbag but made of bricks. A brickbag. Wander asked them to hold on, he should have gotten this ready earlier, but it was to no avail.

They were off. Not even a countdown.

They left a blaze of fire in their wake, incredibly.


End file.
